BS in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Degree Program Description
The field of parks, recreation, sport and tourism is a multi-billion dollar industry, which encompasses important environmental and social issues such as conservation, community building, human development, health and well-being, and the quality of life. The Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism program provides students with opportunities to develop knowledge and skills for designing, managing, and evaluating various leisure services across a variety of user groups. The undergraduate degree program is comprehensive, yet tailored to meet the needs of students based on current job requirements and professional trends including leadership, communication, problem solving, accounting, and economics. All of our areas of emphasis are accredited with eligibility to sit for the Certified Park and Recreation Professional certification. A wide range of careers in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism include: outdoor education, park management, park ranger, resource manager, back country guide, visitor relations, recreation supervisors, facility managers, health and fitness, golf course management, park planner, cultural arts, aquatics, account executives, customer relations, game-day operations, compliance, fund raising, sales, and marketing.
Major Program Requirements
Students earning a Bachelor of Science in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism are required to complete all University general education, University graduation, and degree requirements, including selected foundational courses which fulfill University general education requirements.
Students majoring in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism may select one of the following emphasis areas:
- Natural Resources Recreation Management
- Recreation Administration
- Sport Management
- Tourism Development
A student may earn a second emphasis by using the emphasis core requirements of one towards professional electives in the other (see emphasis area pages for additional details).
Students in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism are required to earn a C- or better in all Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism core, internship, and emphasis area courses.
Students are admissible to transfer into this program with a 2.0 term GPA and 2.0 cumulative GPA. You are directly admissible into the program when you meet the University admissions requirements.
If you are planning to transfer courses (including AP credit) and would like to information on how they apply to a degree program(s), you can email CAFNRadvising@missouri.edu for general recommendations.
| Foundational Courses | 15 | |
| MATH 1050 | Quantitative Reasoning | 3 |
| or MATH 1100 | College Algebra | |
| STAT 1200 | Introductory Statistical Reasoning | 3 |
| or ABM 2123 | Quantitative Applications in Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences | |
| or ESC_PS 4170 | Introduction to Applied Statistics | |
| PSYCH 1000 | General Psychology | 3 |
| SOCIOL 1000 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| AGSC_COM 2220 | Verbal Communication in Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources | 3 |
| or COMMUN 1200 | Public Speaking | |
| Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism Core (minimum grade of C- in PRST core) | 23 | |
| PRST 1010 | Introduction to Sport, Recreation, and Tourism | 3 |
| PRST 1011 | Academic Planning and Career Orientation in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism | 1 |
| PRST 2281 | Business of Sport and Recreation | 3 |
| PRST 2750 | Methods in Research and Evaluation | 3 |
| PRST 3210 | Personnel Management and Leadership | 3 |
| PRST 3215W | Program and Event Development - Writing Intensive | 4 |
| PRST 4150 | Contemporary Issues in Sport | 3 |
| or PRST 4250 | Parks, Health and Wellness | |
| PRST 4208 | Administration and Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| Internship (minimum grade of C- in internship courses) | 13 | |
| PRST 3189 | Pre-Internship and Career Development Seminar | 1 |
| PRST 4940 | Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism Internship | 12 |
| Business and Communication Core | 12 | |
| ABM 1041 | Applied Microeconomics | 3 |
| or ECONOM 1014 | Principles of Microeconomics | |
| or ECONOM 1051H | General Economics - Honors | |
| ACCTCY 2010 | Introduction to Accounting | 3 |
| or ACCTCY 2026 | Accounting I | |
| or ACCTCY 2036 | Accounting I | |
| or ACCTCY 2136H | Honors Accounting I | |
| or FINPLN 2183 | Personal and Family Finance | |
| ABM 3224 | New Products Marketing | 3 |
| or ABM 3224W | New Products Marketing - Writing Intensive | |
| or ABM 3223 | Relationship Selling: Creating Value for Customers | |
| or MRKTNG 3000 | Principles of Marketing | |
| AGSC_COM 3240 | Communicating on the Web | 3 |
| or COMMUN 2100 | Media Communication in Society | |
| or ENGLSH 2030 | Professional Writing | |
| or THEATR 1400 | Acting for Non-Majors | |
| Emphasis Area Requirements (minimum grade of C- in emphasis courses) | 33 | |
| Emphasis areas require professional electives. Professional electives can be any course from the following subject areas: ACCTCY, AG_ED_LD, BUS_AD, FINANC, FINPLN, HSP_MGMT, MANGMT, MRKTNG, NEP, or PRST. At least 9 credit hours must be from PRST courses. | ||
Accelerated BS in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism to MS in Natural Resources with Emphasis in Parks, Recreation and Tourism
The accelerated option will allow students to earn a bachelors and masters degree within five years. Eligible students must have completed 90 credit hours toward a BS degree in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism with a 3.5 GPA or higher Accepted undergraduate students can take 15 hours of graduate level courses that will count toward both the undergraduate and the graduate degrees. Once the student has completed 120 credit hours, the corresponding bachelor’s degree will be conferred and they will become graduate students in the MS program to complete the remaining 18 hours of graduate credit. A minimum of 15 credit hours must be from courses at the 8000 level or above.
Students will still need to complete their 12 credit hour capstone internship as part of the 105 undergraduate credits; the internship cannot be used to fulfill the MS thesis or project requirement.
Total credits required for graduation must be at least 138 total credit hours:
- Total undergraduate credit hours: 105
- Total dual enrollment credit hours: 15
- Total graduate credit hours: 18
| First Year (as Provisional Graduate Student) | 15 | |
| ESC_PS 7170 | Introduction to Applied Statistics | 3 |
| PRST 7208 | Administration and Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| Choose three courses from the following list | ||
| PRST 7100 | Ethics and Diversity | 3 |
| PRST 7150 | Contemporary Issues in Sport | 3 |
| PRST 7250 | Parks, Health and Wellness | 3 |
| PRST 7260 | Sustainable Tourism | 3 |
| PRST 7333 | Park and Sport Facility Operations | 3 |
| PRST 7340 | Recreation Land Management | 3 |
| PRST 7357 | Domestic and International Tourism: Resources, Market, and Impacts | 3 |
| Second Year (as Graduate Student) | 18 | |
| PRST 8400 | Constructs of Leisure | 3 |
| PRST 8430 | Social and Behavioral Research Methods | 3 |
| PRST 8089 | Research Project | 6 |
| or PRST 8090 | Thesis Research in Parks, Recreation, Sport and Tourism | |
| 8000-level course | 6 | |
Thesis/Non-Thesis Option
All MS students are required to complete an original research thesis or professional project. The thesis topic and general methods are approved by the student’s graduate committee. The completed thesis is then defended in an oral exam administered by that committee. The final oral exam also may address discipline-specific knowledge.
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ENGLSH 1000 | 3 | MATH 1050 or 1100 | 3 |
| AGSC_COM 2220 or COMMUN 1200 | 3 | SOCIOL 1000 | 3 |
| PRST 1010 | 3 | Missouri State Law Requirement | 3 |
| PRST 1011 | 1 | Emphasis Area Course | 3 |
| Humanities & Fine Arts | 3 | PRST 2281 | 3 |
| Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PSYCH 1000 | 3 | PRST 3215W | 4 |
| STAT 1200, ABM 2123, or ESC_PS 4170 | 3 | ABM 1041 or ECONOM 1014 | 3 |
| AGSC_COM 3240, COMMUN 2100, ENGLSH 2030, or THEATR 1400 | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| PRST 2750 | 3 | Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science with Lab | 3-4 |
| PRST 3210 | 3 | Emphasis Area Course | 3 |
| 15 | 16-17 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ACCTCY 2010, 2026, 2036, or FINPLN 2183 | 3 | ABM 3224, 3224W, MRKTNG 3000, or ABM 3223 | 3 |
| Emphasis Area Course | 3 | PRST 4150 or 4250 | 3 |
| Professional Elective | 3 | Emphasis Area Course | 3 |
| Professional Elective | 3 | Professional Elective | 3 |
| Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PRST 4208 | 3 | PRST 4940 | 12 |
| PRST 3189 | 1 | ||
| Emphasis Area Course | 3 | ||
| Professional Elective | 3 | ||
| Professional Elective | 3 | ||
| Professional Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 12 | ||
| Total Credits: 120-121 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.